


Ships Shipping Ships

by jinxauthor



Category: Free!
Genre: Accidental Kissing, Awkwardness, First Fight, Jealousy, M/M, Plots, Sharing a Bed, Stupidity, Swimming, Swimming Boys, Swimming Pools, Trapped In A Closet, ships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 05:15:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5079283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinxauthor/pseuds/jinxauthor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nagisa and Rei are the Iwatobi Swim Team's own OTP. But this seemingly perfect couple is torn apart when they realize they support different relationships among their friends! As each captain is prepared to go down with his ship, who exactly will they be dragging down with them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Since I'm taking a brief break from "The Y Files" to prep for NaNoWriMo, I've decided to upload this one-shot that I wrote up in a fit of insanity. Hopefully you enjoy it.

Nagisa winced as the bright morning sun flooded in through the window. With a whine, he grabbed the black comforter and pulled the fabric over his head, shutting out the light. His activity deprived Rei of his share, and a short game of tug of war ensued.

“Nagisa! You’re hogging the blanket!” Rei complained, grabbing at one corner and tugging it over himself.

“Nooo!” Nagisa moaned pitifully as the light once again met his face. He rolled over, turning his body away from the light and burying his face into Rei’s back. “Rei-chan… You need to get some curtains.”

Rei shifted position as well, rolling so that he was facing Nagisa. It was difficult to maneuver on the narrow bed with both of them in it, but they were past worrying about respecting the other’s personal space. Rei reached over Nagisa’s head, now comfortably resting against his chest. He grabbed his alarm clock, brought it closer to his face, and stared at the blurry numbers.

He set the clock down with a sigh and let his head fall back to the pillow.

“It’s already past 10. Maybe we should just get out of bed?”

“Never!” Nagisa said, this time with more energy. He slightly propped himself up on one elbow, reaching out to bring Rei’s face to his own. Lips met in a kiss that began soft, but quickly became more passionate.

They indulged in each other’s kisses for several minutes before Rei broke away with a light gasp.

“W-Wait… Nagisa…”

It was enough for now. Satisfied at the red flush spread across Rei’s face, Nagisa collapsed again onto his own pillow, smiling happily.

“Why didn’t we do this sooner?” he asked suddenly, throwing an arm across Rei’s chest.

Rei laughed, “Because I was too embarrassed!”

“Yeah. It’s your cutest quality.”

“D-Don’t say I’m cute…”

“EEEh? Why not, Rei-chan?” Nagisa exaggeratedly asked, knowing exactly how to cause Rei further embarrassment.

“Because…”

He still wasn’t used to being with Nagisa, and it showed in his expression. Nagisa couldn’t help himself. He showered Rei with more kisses and called him all sorts of pet names until Rei’s face was as red as the metaphorical cherry he had given to Nagisa. Rei looked like he was at his limit and ready to bail out of bed to make his escape, but Nagisa was the first to pull away.

“You’re cute, Rei-chan. Just accept it.”

Though Rei turned his face away, Nagisa could tell he was smiling slightly.

“It would be nice if Haruka-sempai and Makoto-sempai could be this happy,” he said suddenly.

“Rei-chan… You’re thinking of other guys when you’re with me? That’s terrible.”

“No, Nagisa-kun! It’s not like that,” he added, turning toward Nagisa and staring earnestly into his magenta eyes. “I just wish they could have what we have.”

Nagisa smiled. “I’m only joking. I’ve actually been thinking the same thing. And about Rin-chan, too. He deserves someone who won’t make him cry.”

Rei laughed. “Nagisa-kun, you forget that Matsuoka-kun already has Haruka-sempai.”

Nagisa was surprised. “What? Rin-chan and Haru-chan together? That’s ridiculous!”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because anyone can see that Haru-chan already belongs with Mako-chan. Isn’t that what you meant when you said it would be great if the two of them could be as happy as us?”

“Oh no! I meant that it would be great if the two of them could find someone else to love. Personally, I feel that Haruka-sempai and Matsuoka-kun are a better match.”

“No way! It has to be Haru-chan and Mako-chan! They’ve clearly been in love since they were kids. It would be great if both of them could stop being idiots about it and just do it already!”

Rei appeared to consider this suggestion for only a fraction of a second before smiling patronizingly. He closed his eyes and turned his head slowly from side to side, saying with an air of condescension, “Oh, Nagisa… I’m afraid I disagree. Whatever Makoto-sempai’s feelings for Haruka-senpai may be, Haru already belongs to Matsuoka-san.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“But I am! Haven’t you noticed how obsessed Matsuoka-kun is with Haruka-sempai? And after that relay, it was obvious Haruka-sempai felt the same! I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t already secretly a couple!”

Nagisa sat bolt upright, the expression on his face one of mixed horror and indignation. “But that’s awful! Mako-chan has been by Haru-chan’s side this whole time! Haru would never abandon him for Rin-chan, even if they are fated rivals!”

Rei continued to smile at Nagisa the same way a parent may smile at a child who insists the sky is green. “Did you forget about that day, Nagisa-kun? It was so important that Haruka and Matsuoka swim together. That’s why I stepped down from the relay. What would have been the point of my gesture if it didn’t help Haru and Matsuoka discover how the really felt about each other?”

“That was for the team! It wasn’t just Haru and Rin out there!”

“That may be so, but it was Haruka that found Rin and brought him back, wasn’t it? Rin was swimming for Haru, and Haru for Rin. As far as Haru-sempai is concerned, that’s an act of true love.”

Nagisa looked down into Rei’s smug face and for once he didn’t feel like kissing him. “Rei-chan…” he said seriously, “I think you’re just making up excuses so you feel better about not swimming the relay with us.”

Rei couldn’t have looked more shocked if Nagisa had slapped him, “What? That’s… That’s not it! I just know Haruka-senpai and Matsuoka…”

“Haru belongs with Mako-chan!”

“You’re wrong!”

Nagisa shot out of bed and began pulling his clothes on, too angry to continue looking at Rei.

“I’m leaving!”

“What? Nagisa-kun, you don’t have to leave!”

“Stupid Rei-chan! You don’t know anything about Haru and Mako. I’ve known them way longer than you!”

“Nagisa… I don’t think that’s…”

“Enough! I’m not listening to this!” Nagisa grasped the doorknob and tossed a final glare at Rei over his shoulder. He felt a sharp pang in his chest to see that Rei was still seated in bed, glaring back at him and not showing any signs of attempting to stop Nagisa’s progress. “Why don’t you stay here and write yourself some HaruxRin fan-fiction since you love them so much?!” he shouted.

“Fine! Maybe I will!”

“Fine!”

But as the Iwatobi and Samezuka swim teams were about to find out, all was not fine.


	2. Chapter 2

Monday afternoon brought about another joint swimming practice. Although Rei hadn’t heard from Nagisa since Saturday, he assumed Nagisa’s anger would have blown over after the time apart. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Nagisa had pointedly ignored Rei throughout morning classes. Rei would have been willing to forgive him if it had just been homeroom, but they shared every single class. Nagisa gave him the cold shoulder through it all. At lunch, Nagisa chose to join Gou and her friends, staying clear of the rest of the swimming team. Even now that they had changed into their swimsuits and were being greeted by the Samezuka team, Nagisa kept a wide gap between himself and Rei.

At first, he felt guilty. It was his fault he and Nagisa had fought.  But when any attempts to make amends were met by Nagisa turning up his nose or sticking out his tongue before running away, guilt turned to anger. Wasn’t Nagisa going to let him apologize? He was acting childish!

“Rei-kun? Are you listening?”

He must have been glaring in Nagisa’s direction too intensely to have heard Makoto the first time. He tore his gaze away from where Nagisa was cheerfully chatting with Samezuka’s Aiichiro Nitori (no doubt in an attempt to make Rei jealous) and turned his attention to the Iwatobi captain.

“S-Sorry, Makoto-sempai. You were saying?”

Makoto smiled at him, “Do you think you could keep an eye on Haru for a few minutes while I grab my goggles? I forgot them in the locker room.”

“Makoto-sempai…. I’m sure Haru will manage without you for a few minutes.”

There may have been more hostility in his voice than he’d intended, but thankfully, Makoto didn’t seem to notice.

“It’s not that,” Makoto said with a laugh, “I’m worried that if I leave him alone he’ll jump in the pool before practice has even started.”

“Oh… Right.”

Thanking him, Makoto took his leave, but not before stopping to let Haruka know where he would be.

“He really is a nice guy,” Rei thought silently to himself, “But it’s just no good. Matsuoka-kun and Haruka-sempai are perfect for each other.”

Perhaps it was because he had been thinking about the two of them, but Rei’s eyes seemed to light upon Rin Matsuoka in that moment. He stood near the pool’s edge, deep in conversation with Sosuke Yamazaki. Haruka wasn’t far from them, staring at the pair with his usual detached expression. Of course, he could also be staring at the pool behind them. You could never really tell with Haruka.

Then Rei had an idea. Striding over to Haruka, he drew his attention with a light pat on Haruka’s shoulder. “Ready to swim?”

“Huh? Yes… But Makoto…”

Rei was momentarily disheartened by Haruka’s loyalty to his friend, but he wasn’t going to give up easily. “Let’s just ask Matsuoka-kun when we’re going to get started!”

Haruka stared at Rei passively, then he shrugged, and lead the way toward Rin and Sosuke. Rei followed him closely, waiting for the moment when he would strike. He was momentarily pleased to see that his actions were drawing the attention of Nagisa, but all too quickly Haruka was drawing nearer to Rin, and the moment had come.

“Watch this, Nagisa,” Rei thought as he pretended to trip over his own feet. He reached his hands out as if to catch himself, but pushed them against Haruka’s back instead. As he regained his own balance, Haruka was pushed forward, falling through the air toward Rin.

To Rei it all seemed to happen in slow motion. Haruka falling toward Rin, even now his stoicism preventing him from crying out. Rei could imagine the look of surprise on his face, his deep blue eyes locking onto Rin’s red ones. Rin would come to his rescue, catching Haru in his arms as shojo-manga sparkles appeared out of nowhere.

But none of that happened. Seeing Haru start to fall, Sosuke quickly reached out and grabbed Rin by the arm, pulling him out of Haruka’s path just in time. Haruka fell in to the pool with a colossal splash, and somehow it was Rin who ended up in the arms of another man.

“Sosuke! What the hell!?”

“He was gonna trip on you.”

“Yeah, well now he’s fallen in the pool!”

“I don’t think he’s too upset about that.”

In truth, Haruka wasn’t fazed in the least. He was now happily treading water in his natural element. Makoto returned from his brief trip to the locker room to see Haruka splashing around. He didn’t say anything, but the expression he directed toward Rei seemed to say, “Really? You had one job.”

“S-Sorry, Makoto-sempai.” Rei said sheepishly, staring at his feet. But he wasn’t really sorry for pushing Haru into the pool and disregarding Makoto’s request. He was sorry that his feeble attempt to bring his friends together had failed so miserably. He would have to be more creative with his next attempt.


	3. Chapter 3

Nagisa couldn’t believe that Rei would pull such an obvious and ridiculous stunt.

Everyone else might think that tripping and pushing Haru into the pool had been an innocent accident, but Nagisa knew his boyfriend’s mind better than that. He clearly wanted Haru to fall into Rin, and if Sosuke hadn’t intervened, his plan may actually have succeeded.

Not that Nagisa thought that Rei’s plan was any good. Why should Haru falling into Rin’s arms automatically lead to a romantic relationship? If anything, they would have toppled over into the pool together.

The incident passed without comment from the others, and Rei seemed embarrassed by his part in it, so no real harm had been done. But Nagisa had learned two things. First, Rei was now determined to bring about his desired pairing, even if it meant getting himself involved. Second, Sosuke could prove to be a valuable ally.

Nagisa watched Sosuke carefully during the joint practice. His observations led him to realize just how closely Sosuke in turn watched Rin. He was incredibly preoccupied with were Rin was during practice, what his times were while swimming, and the instruction Rin gave to their teammates.

Well, admittedly, he was on the swim team. So he probably should be paying attention when the captain gave orders. Still, could his strenuous attentions be a sign of romantic obsession? If Rin were to start a relationship with Sosuke, then Rei would have to give up his absurd notion of pairing him with Haru.

But what could Nagisa do to make them fall in love? The inclination was there, surely, but they would need a spark to get things going. Maybe he could take a page out of Rei’s book and try to force a romantic situation?

That’s when he heard Rin call out “Sosuke! Can you help me out for a second? I want some of the guys to try practicing with boards.”

Nagisa watched them walk toward the supply closet. The small room was completely filled with practice gear and other pool items. Nagisa grinned wickedly. This was a perfect opportunity.

He could picture it perfectly. Rin and Sosuke trapped in the confined space, unable to get free. In their struggle to get out, their bodies would only be pressed closer together, in ever more interesting positions. Suddenly, they would find themselves face-to-face, their lips only centimeters away from each other. When Nagisa thought of what he would do if he suddenly found himself in the same situation with Rei…

Nagisa quickly banished the thought from his mind. He was still furious with Rei. This was no time to be fantasizing about him. Even if he did look glorious in his swimsuit.

Refocusing on his nefarious plan, Nagisa braced himself for the opportune moment. He strolled casually toward the entrance of the supply closet, where Rin and Sosuke were busy gathering stacks of swim boards for practice. When Nagisa was certain of being unobserved by any of the other team members, he closed the door and turned the lock with an audible click.

Sosuke and Rin noticed instantly that the door had closed. They started knocking and calling out from the other side of the door, but Nagisa had already moved away. The other members of the two swim teams took no notice, the water and wide space helping to amplify the sounds of splashing and conversation. No one could hear Sosuke and Rin’s shouts.

“There you go boys,” Nagisa thought triumphantly, “Now you can get into all sorts of mischief without anyone hearing anything.”

But Nagisa was mistaken. In the next instant, the door flew off its hinges and fell to the floor with a BANG.

Conversation and swim practice halted as the teams turned to see the Samezuka captain and vice-captain walk out of the supply closet. Sosuke, being the brick house that he is, had decided to break the door down. He and Rin stood observing the fallen door while he massaged his shoulder.

“Must’ve locked itself when it closed behind us.”

“I guess so. But how did it close?”

“I don’t know. Did you hurt your shoulder when you slammed against the door?”

“Huh? Oh… Guess so. Not that bad.”

Rin looked as if he was going to ask to see Sosuke’s shoulder when Momotaro Mikoshiba ran toward them, closely followed by other members of the Samezuka team. While they loudly pestered Rin and Sosuke for details about what happened, Nagisa slinked back toward his own team, feeling defeated.

“No… It isn’t over yet. Rei-chan didn’t manage to bring Rin-chan and Haru-chan together either. All I have to do is get Mako-chan interested in Haru-chan.”

Nagisa was shocked back to reality by the voice of the very person he had just been thinking about. “Nagisa? We’re getting ready to practice our relay exchanges.”

Makoto Tachibana started into Nagisa’s face, his upturned eyebrows pulling together in concern.

“Say, are you feeling alright? You’ve been really quiet today. It’s unlike you.”

Nagisa smiled up at Makoto, then looked past him to see Haruka and Rei together by the poolside. Rei was looking at him with a smirk. Did he see Nagisa lock Sosuke and Rin in the closet?

Nagisa’s smile turned into a glare. “I’m not practicing the exchanges today.”

“What? But Nagisa…”

“I said I’m not doing it! I don’t want to swim the relay anymore!”

Before Makoto could reply, Nagisa had already run away. He had more important things to worry about than swim practice. He had to find a way to bring Haru and Makoto together before Rei ruined everything.


	4. Chapter 4

“It’s no use…” Nagisa muttered as he poked at his lunch.

“What’s that, Nagisa?”

“… Nothing…”

They sat at their usual lunch spot on the school roof, just Haruka, Makoto, and Nagisa. Rei hadn’t been eating with them recently, and Makoto hadn’t said anything about Nagisa’s tantrum during practice the other day. The others probably had guessed that he and Rei were fighting. Makoto probably thought it was prudent to wait until Nagisa approached the subject himself. Haruka probably didn’t think anything at all.

But Nagisa wasn’t thinking about how he could patch things up with Rei. He had been agonizing about how he could start a romance between Haru and Mako since practice ended.

He could wait for a rainstorm and steal one of their umbrellas… But Makoto usually shares his umbrella with Haru anyway. He could invite them over for a sleepover and only provide one extra futon… But he was pretty sure they were used to sharing beds like that since they were kids. He could try to trick Makoto into walking in on Haru during a shower! But that idea was no good either, since Makoto always wanders into the bathroom while Haru is bathing…

In short, every plan Nagisa could think of were things Haru and Makoto already did with each other.

“Damn it!” Nagisa shouted, throwing his Iwatobi-chan cream bread onto the ground. “Why don’t you two just screw already?!”

Makoto started to choke on a mouthful of rice. Haru didn’t react much as usual, but he at least had the decency to look surprised. He offered Makoto a bottle of water and looked at Nagisa quizzically.

“Nagisa… What…?”

But Nagisa turned from them and pelted down the stairs. He wouldn’t wait to explain himself to the others. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed. After all, someone had to say something to those dense idiots. But he had suddenly thought of an idea. It occurred to him when he saw Haru hand Makoto the bottle of water. Haru hadn’t even looked at his choking friend. He simply passed him the bottle while staring at Nagisa. They were just so _comfortable_ with each other. Helping Makoto was second nature to him, he didn’t even have to think about it.

“The feeling is there, but there’s no impulse to bring it to light,” Nagisa thought as he raced through the school. He had a plan now.

The easiest way to make two oblivious people like Makoto and Haru realize their feelings for each other? That’s simple. _Jealousy._

* * *

  
"KISS ME!”

Several people spun around to stare at Nagisa. He cleared his throat and tried again, saying more distinctly, “KIS-U-ME!”

On the court, a tall pink-haired boy turned and acknowledged Nagisa with a wave. Then a basketball smacked him in the head.

“Oi, Shigino! Pay attention during practice!”

"Sorry, sorry! Can I take a break for a moment?”

Kisume jogged lightly off the court toward Nagisa, smiling in a friendly if somewhat bemused sort of way.

“Hey! It’s Nagisa, right?”

“Yeah. Sorry to bother you during practice.”

“It’s no problem… But aren’t you on the swim team at Iwatobi? Shouldn’t you be at practice?”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.”

Kisume grinned, “Oh no. I had heard you guys had some pretty aggressive recruitment tactics, but I go to another school, you know? I don’t think I can join the team.”

“Who told you that?”

“Makoto. He said that you in particular were responsible for poaching a member of the track and field club who couldn’t even swim. I’d say that’s pretty impressive.”

Nagisa ignored the sharp pain he felt remembering those early days when he desperately tried to get Rei to join the team. He pushed those thoughts aside. He needed to focus on his objective.

“Acutally, it’s Makoto I came to talk about. You guys were friends and middle school, right?”

“Sure! If I had been as good at recruitment as you, he would be on the basketball team instead of the swim team. A guy that tall…”

“And from the sounds of things, you’re still friends now?”

“Well, yeah. We meet up now and then. Occasionally I can even convince him to a one-on-one match! You’d never catch me in the water though.”

Nagisa smiled. Kisume must still be thinking that he wanted him to swim. But he had other ideas in mind. “I had no idea that you and Makoto were still close! You must see a lot of Haru-chan as well, then.”

Kisume looked a little confused, “Well, not really. I’ve invited him along before, but he seems to always be busy with something else.”

Nagisa smiled and thought “probably busy ignoring you,” but he kept it to himself. Instead, he said, “He tends to spend all of his free time in the water. He’s so dedicated to swimming. But you know, they’ll be practicing at the new Iwatobi Swim Club building. If you wanted to stop by after practice today, you can probably catch Haru and Mako-chan there!”

He thought it might take some more convincing, but Kisume was easy to bait. His eyes lit up at the prospect of seeing two dear old friends again, and he eagerly accepted Nagisa’s offer.

“Hey! My little brother still takes swimming lessons there! I need to pick him up after this anyway, so maybe I will come by and say hello! Hayato still loves Makoto for teaching him backstroke. He’ll be so excited to see him again!”

“Great! Well, then I guess I’ll see you later!”

Nagisa turned to leave, but Kisume called him back. “Hey! Did you say you had something to tell me about Makoto? You came all this way.”

Nagisa cursed inwardly. He had almost forgot the most important part of his plan. “Oh yeah… Well, I’ve just been kind of worried about him recently. He’s seemed… I don’t know, like he’s had something on his mind. I mean, today he was so distracted that he nearly choked on his rice.”

Kisume looked genuinely concerned, “Is he OK?”

“That’s the thing, I’m not sure. I thought that you, as his _close_ friend, could maybe talk to him? He might share things with you that he wouldn’t want me, as an underclassmen, to know.”

Kisume thought about it, and said, “Couldn’t he just talk to Haru if something was bothering him?”

“Well, maybe he’s bothered about Haru-chan? Don’t you think he would have said something about it before if he could just talk to Haru?”

Kisume’s captain had started to call him back to practice. Kisume glanced over his shoulder at the mock-game in progress and began to back away from Nagisa. “Yeah, OK,” he said, his tone implying that he wasn’t sure what he was agreeing to. “I’ll definitely stop by today, then. Sorry, but I have to go now.”

“No problem! I’m late myself, as it is.”

“Then I’ll see you around!”

“See you, Kisume-kun.”

* * *

 

Nagisa could barely contain his excitement. He was late for practice, of course, and now that he had joined the others he couldn’t even focus on swimming. Gou kept chastising him for his slow laps. But he wasn’t even paying attention enough to look properly ashamed. Every time he caught Rei’s eye, he needed all of his self-control to prevent him from howling with laughter.

“Just you wait!” he wanted to scream, “I know Haru’s weakness! He can’t stand Kisume! As soon as he sees the two of them in an intimate conversation together, he’ll be consumed with jealousy! My victory is assured!”

Thinking about stunned look that would be on Rei’s face was marvelous. He’d come groveling back to Nagisa on his hands and knees, begging for forgiveness and promising to do whatever Nagisa asked of him to make up for his foolishness… And oh the things Nagisa would do to him then. Just the thought of it caused Nagisa to start laughing malevolently.

“Um, Nagisa?”

Nagisa flinched out of his reverie and looked up and up into the face of Makoto. He, as usual, towered above the much shorter boy.

“Um… Was I laughing just now?”

“Well… Yes a little.”

“Oh, sorry. I just thought of a funny joke.”

“Well, that’s fine… But I wanted to talk to you a bit…”

“Mmn? ‘Bout what?”

“Well… You’ve been acting kind of strange lately. You were late for practice today… And you said you didn’t want to do relays. Haru and I are worried. Is… Is there a problem with you and Rei?”

Nagisa gave Makoto his most winning smile, “Oh, don’t worry Mako-chan! Rei-chan and I had a bit of a disagreement, but it’ll all be resolved soon.”

“Oh? Well… OK. Just… Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

 _You can start by helping Haru out of his swimsuit after practice,_ he thought, but prudently did not say.

Kisume had great timing. He and his little brother entered the room just as Makoto was preparing to return the pool. The normally shy Hayato called out to the swim club captain, and Makoto’s face broke out into a warm smile.

“Hayato! Kisume!”

Haru, having just emerged from under the water, whipped around at the sound of Kisume’s name. He glared, and sank lower into the water, his eyes just above the surface.

“Good, Haru-chan,” thought Nagisa. “You keep watching.”

Makoto and Kisume had fallen into friendly conversation, though Kisume kept directing glances in Nagisa’s direction. He suddenly called out to him, waving him over toward their small group.

“Nagisa-kun? Do you think you could watch Hayato for a minute? I’d like to have a private word with Makoto real quick.”

Nagisa gave him a look of understanding, though Makoto looked a little worried. Kisume grabbed Makoto by the hand – a perfect gesture for this situation, in Nagisa’s opinion – and pulled him to the other side of the pool. Haru was just climbing out of the water.

So far, so good. But it wasn’t enough, was it? Kisume and Makoto were having a completely normal conversation. Haru spared a glance in their direction, and then appeared to decide that it was too much effort to be near Kisume. He turned away from them and began looking through his gym bag instead.

But Nagisa wasn’t daunted yet. He had just had another idea.

“Hayato-kun. You like Makoto, right?”

The little boy smiled up at him, his eyes shining with admiration, “Mako-sensei is the best!”

Nagisa returned his smile, “That so? Well, what if I was to tell you that he’s feeling kind of sad today?”

“Huh? Really? He doesn’t look sad.”

“He doesn’t want you to worry about him. But you know what I think would make him feel better? A hug! You should go tell your big brother to give him a big hug, ‘kay?”

Hayato nodded, too eager for this opportunity to add to his favorite swim coach’s happiness. He raced toward his brother, forgetting all about the most important rule around pools – no running.

“Hayato, don’t run!” Kisume said, pushing around Makoto to move toward his brother. Haru turned at the same time to see Hayato attempt to obey his brother’s command. He tried to stop too suddenly, and his feet slipped on the smooth, wet floor. Kisume dove toward him to prevent his fall. Haru, perhaps reacting on instinct, did the same. They met Hayato in almost the same instant, Haru snatching up the little boy and knocking heads with Kisume in the progress. They both looked up, perhaps about to apologize at the same time for bumping into one another. But they hadn’t realized how close they had become. Their apologies were silenced as their lips came together in an open-mouthed kiss.

It was over in an instant as the two recoiled from one another. Somehow, Haru had pushed Hayato into Kisume’s arms. The little brother was giggling now, poking Kisume in the cheek. “Ha ha! You kissed him! You kissed a boy, big brother!”

Haru had gone pale and was holding his hand over his mouth. He looked like he wanted to puke. But whatever he was feeling, Nagisa was sure he felt worse.

“No!” his soul cried out in silence, “No! It wasn’t supposed to go like this!”

Makoto was quickly but cautiously drawing closer to Haru’s side, asking everyone if they were OK. He seemed more concerned about injuries rather than Haru’s stolen kiss. Hadn’t he seen it? Didn’t he care?

“Things not go according to plan, Nagisa-kun?”

Nagisa wanted to punch Rei in his beautiful, smug face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do. I can see it in your face. I don’t know what you were planning to use the boy for, but it failed didn’t it?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll win in the end.”

“Winning? This was never about winning! It’s about two people who love each other being together!”

“Exactly! And those two people are Haru and Mako-chan!”

_“Haru and Rin!”_

Makoto looked away from Haru in time to see Nagisa and Rei storm off. Hayato was explaining to his brother that the only reason he forgot about the running rule was because Makoto needed a hug. He sighed.

“OK. This has gone on long enough.”

Haru had detached himself in order to rinse his mouth out in the restroom. Kisume, more composed than Haru but still slightly embarrassed, awkwardly said his goodbyes to Makoto and took his leave. Left alone, Makoto grabbed his cell and dialed Rin’s number.


	5. Chapter 5

 “I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve called you here today.”

Makoto and Rin sat side by side, facing Nagisa and Rei on the other side of the table. Nagisa and Rei were sitting as far apart as they could manage without actually being on opposite sides of the table. They were at Haru’s house. Makoto had called Nagisa there on the pretext of discussing something about Haru (he kept it vague on purpose). Rin had done the same, only he had called up Rei. Now that they were gathered together, it was time to get down to business.

“Not really,” muttered Nagisa, “But what is _he_ doing here.”

“I could ask the same,” Rei said, adjusting his glasses in the trademark way he had that used to turn Nagisa on but now just made him pissed off. “Matsuoka, I thought we were here to discuss Haruka.”

“We are,” Rin said with a sigh, “Look, Makoto filled me in on how you two have been acting. This feud has to stop.”

Makoto nodded his head in agreement, and continued, “It’s obvious that you both have become sort of… Well, fixated on Haru. I think you might have developed the wrong idea about our relationship with him.”

“I haven’t!” Rei protested, “ _He has!_ Matsuoka-san, you have to tell him!”

“No, Mako-chan! He doesn’t understand the depth of your love for Haru! Rin-chan, you’re my friend too, but nothing can come between Haru and Mako!”

Makoto and Rin remained calm in the face of these passionate pleas. They exchanged and glance and smiled, each shaking their heads slowly.

“I told you that’s what it would be,” Rin said with a chuckle.

“Yes, you did.” Makoto looked up at them. Nagisa and Rei hadn’t realized that in their excitement they had jumped up from their seats. Feeling ashamed in the face of Makoto’s patient expression, they book sat down again. Only then did Makoto resume speaking. “You two… You have to understand that for Rin and I, Haru is just a dear friend.”

“He means a lot to us, sure. But it’s not romantic like that.”

 “No… Not like the two of you.”

Nagisa and Rei both opened their mouths to protest, but Makoto silenced them with a simple raise of his hand. “Don’t you two realize what you mean to our group? Sure, we were all surprised when you came out to us, but you’re so great together that we can’t help but accept you. Nagisa, without you and Rei, Haru and I wouldn’t have a swim team.”

“And I wouldn’t have anyone to compete against,” Rin added. “Is this silly fight over Haru’s pretend relationships really enough to tear you guys apart? You always look so damn happy together. You should be focused on your own relationship, not other peoples.”

For the first time since their argument, Nagisa and Rei looked into one another's eyes without feelings of anger or resentment. They looked away in embarrassment, then Rei reached out a hand toward Nagisa. Though he wasn’t facing him, Nagisa seemed to sense his intent, and his hand reached for him as well.

Makoto looked at their clasped hands, fingers interlaced with one another, and grinned broadly. “Does this mean we can get back to relay practice?”

Nagisa nodded and squeezed Rei’s hand. “I’m sorry, I overreacted.”

“It’s OK. I was being stupid too.”

Nagisa wanted to hug him, but he felt uncharacteristically shy in front of Makoto and Rin. But he owed them an apology too.

“Rin-chan… I’m sorry for locking you in a closet with Sosuke.”

“Wait… that was you?”

“I just really wanted Makoto and Haru to be together! Makoto… you’re so nice. You deserve happiness with Haru!”

“And Matsuoka-san, I thought you wanted to be with Haru. I thought that was why it was so important for you to swim together!”

Rin shared another looked with Makoto, then they both rose to their feet. They each gripped the zippered collars of their jackets.

“There’s something that you two should know.”

“Eh?” Nagisa and Rei stared up at the others in confusion. With the same flourish usually reserved for quickly disrobing and diving in a pool, Rin and Makoto unzipped their jackets and flung them aside. The wore matching t-shirts underneath which read in large, bold letters

 **“HARU X WATER-CHAN 4 LIFE”**  

“The truth is, we both ship Haru and the Water.” Makoto said happily.

“Yeah, I can’t imagine Haru ending up with anyone else, actually.”

“He’s happiest when he’s swimming.”

“Yup, anyone in a relationship with him would have to be comfortable being second best to the pool.”

Nagisa and Rei stared at then in stunned silence before they burst out laughing.

“You are so right!”

“Yeah, I can’t believe I didn’t see it before! Haru and the water are meant to be!”

“The ultimate OTP!”

The four of them laughed and laughed until their stomachs hurt. Nagisa wiped a few tears from the corners of his eyes before finally glancing around the room.

“Speaking of Haru, why isn’t he here?”

Makoto shrugged, “I’m not sure, actually. He was supposed to join us for this conversation.”

“It’s his house; it’s odd that he’s not here.” Rei said thoughtfully.

“Hey, wait a second you guys, there’s a note here!” Rin said, sitting up from a reclining position on the floor.

“A note? Where did it come from?”

“It must have fallen from the table when we first came in here. I think it’s from Haru.”

"Well, what does it say?”

Rin looked down at the note. Its message was brief. He read aloud, “Dear friends. I can’t fight this feeling anymore. I’ve forgotten what I started fighting for. It’s time to bring this ship into the shore, and throw away the oars forever. Kisume and I have decided to elope. See you later. Haru.”

There was a pause. Rin looked up at Makoto, his eyes wide with shock.

“Elope…”

Makoto’s expression mirrored his own, “With Kisume?”

Rin leaped up from the floor, “Impossible! I was prepared to remain his friend so long as Haru belonged to the water! I won’t stand for him belonging to someone else!”

Makoto jumped up as well, “He can’t do this to me! I’ll die before I see him with Kisume!”

In a rage, they tore out of the room, leaving their jackets and shoes behind in their frenzy to find and stop Haru from eloping with the least-likely partner in the world. Nagisa and Rei were left in their wake, ogling at the note and then looking at each other.

“What do we do?”

“I guess… there’s nothing to do. Funny that we were both wrong, eh?”

"Ha… yeah. I guess they were still right in the end. We’re better off just focusing on our own relationship. Other people are too complicated.”

“It was our first fight…” Nagisa said thoughtfully.

“Yes...”

Without warning, Nagisa turned to grip Rei by the shoulders, pushing him down to the ground and straddling him in one fluid motion.

“So,” he said, licking his lips and staring down into Rei’s surprised face, “Should we kiss and make up?”

 

End <3

 


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